One of the more interesting-looking films in the SXSW lineup is Second Skin, directed by Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza. The film is a documentary about people who are utterly obsessed with the virtual worlds of Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). The film follows several folks who spend all or most of their spare time (and perhaps even their time that's not really spare) immersed in virtual worlds in places like World of Warcraft, Everquest, Second Life and other MMOs. Firstshowing.net has the trailer up, and from watching it, it seems the filmmakers handle the subject matter without looking down on or making fun of these folks for whom virtual life is as important as real life.

It looks also like they examine both the dark and light sides of gaming. There's Kevin and Heather, who met online as a knight and a cleric slaying dragons on Norrath in Everquest, fell in love and then met in real life; then there's a guy on the trailer who talks about playing obsessively for 14-16 hours a day, to the point that his addiction to gaming was ruining his life and he became suicidal. I wonder if they'll delve at all into people using Second Life as a virtual space for sexual encounters and affairs (which personally, I find beyond creepy, but whatever gets you off, I guess). I'll be the first to admit that I don't get the whole appeal of virtual worlds and virtual identities; I can grok the concept that people get really into their video games, but the idea of not having much of a life outside of a virtual reality game puzzles the hell out of me.

I've never entered the virtual online universe known as Second Life myself, but it's been gaining popularity and entering mainstream awareness more and more. (Weblogs, Inc. even has a blog devoted to it, called Second Life Insider.) Late last year, the Sundance Channel set up Sundance Island in the virtual environment to promote and show films; one of the first films screened within Second Life was the indie feature Four Eyed Monsters. Now HBO has announced a deal to buy the distribution rights for a documentary shot in the world of Second Life.

Hollywood Reporter says that the 35-minute film is called Molotov's Dispatches in Search of the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey, and it's a tour through Second Life, hosted by an online avatar known as Molotov Alva. Wired's article on the sale reports a different title for the film: My Second Life: The Video Diaries of Molotov Alva, and notes that HBO is actually planning seven episodes total in a My Second Life series. The title Wired references is the one used on the Molotov Alva website. Whatever the short doc is called, its fate will be something to watch -- HBO says it plans to submit the film for Academy Award consideration in the animated short category.

Will Academy members take it seriously? Will HBO viewers show a significant interest in the film? The impact of Second Life on Hollywood -- and vice versa -- could be fascinating. In the meantime, you can watch the short film in question on the Molotov Alva website. HBO plans to air the series in 2008.

Have you always wanted to meet Bruce Willis? Is he your hero? Do you want to ask him why he's never thrown Ashton Kutcher off a moving train? Well, today is your lucky day -- actually, strike that, you have through May 24 to get lucky. That's because eight die hard (pun intended) fans will be chosen to enter a live chat with Hudson Hawk himself on June 1st in Second Life. For those still clueless about Second Life (and don't worry, up until a few months ago, I had no idea what this thing was), it's kind of like the real world, only virtual. Yeah, that's the best I can do; go here if you want to learn more.

Anyway, you don't need to be part of the Second Life community in order to enter into this contest. Should you be chosen by the powers that be to attend this fabulous meet and greet with one of the greatest actors ever, everything will be taken care of for you. All you'll need to do is write down a bunch of questions ... and be ready. Sign me up, you say? Well first you need to head on over to the official Live Free or Die Hard website. Once there, they'll give you a fairly easy Die Hard trivia quiz consisting of four questions (if you've seen all three movies more than once, then you shouldn't have any trouble answering correctly), and then you'll have to write a "Why Do I Want to Meet Bruce Willis" essay in 500 words or less. I'm not sure what you have to do after that (that's as far as I took it), but I imagine they'll ask for your name, phone, email address, etc ... Why are you still reading this? Go meet Bruce Willis! Then make sure to come back here and tell us everything that happened -- just consider us your girly best friend who loves to gossip.

Ever since I first heard that the Sundance Channel was entering the Second Life world with their own little island, I was interested in learning more about this virtual society -- which was kind of like The Sims meets the real world. Needless to say, after about five minutes my mind was blown, and I couldn't quite wrap my head around everything going on inside. Part of me was afraid those five minutes would turn into 24 hours -- which would turn into days -- and I would soon be lost partying it up with some virtual girl named Electra Fox, in some virtual club, while my very real wife hit me over the head with a reality check hammer.

For independent film fanatics, the Sundance Island could be a pretty cool place to check out -- if only for the planned screenings and special Q&A sessions currently in the works. In fact, one of my favorite little gems from this year, Four Eyed Monsters, will be premiering tomorrow (that's January 9) at 8PM EST -- becoming the first feature film to do so within the Sundance Second Life world. The film will play (for free) in the Sundance Channel Screening Room, as well as a host of other places (Crayon, Laguna Beach Club, The Elbow Room, The Shelter, etc ...), in order to accommodate all those that want to attend. Each screening room can only hold 50 people, and during (and following) the Monsters screening, directors Arin Crumley and Susan Buice will be on hand (as their Second Life avatars) to answer questions from those in attendance.

You can find out more about the Four Eyed Monsters screening from the filmmakers themselves via their brand new, super cool podcast (which includes a list of all the venues where their film will be screening). And, for more on the Sundance Second Life island, check out their blog.

The extremely popular online virtual reality world of Second Life is getting a new real-world addition: the Sundance Film Festival. If you haven't ventured online in Second Life yet, the best way I can describe it to you is to imagine The Sims times about one million. It's an extremely detailed virtual world that allows users to customize every possible aspect of their appearance, and even develop professions, as well as own real estate and build whatever you want on them. Second Life has many real-world counterparts that exist virtually, like Dell and Toyota, and now Sundance will be joining them.

The first time I ventured into Second Life was a couple of years ago, and after an extremely disorienting first 30 minutes or so, I began to get the hang of things. It's a bit like Tron meets Virtuosity meets What Dreams May Come. Once you create your avatar, the virtual representation of yourself in the game which can be male or female, and look like you or not, then you are released head-first into the sprawling vastness of the Second Life universe. Your character can literally fly, like Superman, to any location in the game, and interact with the environment and other denizens of the virtual. You can do things like find a job, go sightseeing, and even purchase genitalia for your avatar. Yes, it's that detailed.

Sundance is going to be trying to duplicate the festival experience online, by way of the Sundance Channel. Vincent Tibbett, one of the Sundance avatars for Second Life told Netscape's Karina Longworth, "Imagine hanging out with people from your local art house theater. That's the environment we plan to replicate in SL." Having spent two trial weeks inside this world, and also being a veteran of the Sundance experience, I'm not sure how well it will translate, virtually speaking. Still, if it serves as another outlet to introduce films to the world, real or not, I'm all for it. Sundance is a great film festival, but it is often limited by the fact that you have to journey to Park City, UT in order to see many of the films, especially in the different Shorts and Animation categories, that you might never see anywhere else. If Second Life can give users a chance to experience Sundance films from the comfort of their own home, then how can it not be a step in the right direction?

The film launching the Sundance Second Life experience is Four Eyed Monsters, which was written and directed by two people popular in the vlogging world, Arin Crumley and Susan Buice, which should help it make an easy transition to the digital world. We'll be tracking more with the Second Life Sundance presence as it develops. In the meantime, be sure to visit our sister site dedicated to all things Second Life.